Eggs are one of the most versatile and useful ingredients in the kitchen. I always seem to have a couple of eggs nearing their ‘use by date’ so find it very useful to have a few tricks up my sleeve for how to use them up. At the moment I have a lot of eggs, so this week may see quite a few egg related posts (Ricky and Alexis, your requests will be met).

Duck Egg Mayonnaise

I got the idea to make this when a friend told me she had seen a duck egg mayonnaise sandwich on a menu and was completely repelled by the idea of a piece of duck with some egg mayonnaise. I think she was a little confused.

This makes for a slightly richer mayonnaise than your regular old hen’s egg, but can be used in exactly the same way. I’m going to make a nice garlicky potato salad to take as part of our picnic to the Somerest House big screen this week.

In a magimix or blender, blitz 2 yolks with pinch of salt, 1 tsp dijon mustard, juice of half a lemon and a pinch of ground black pepper until well combined. With the motor still running, very slowly pour in 75ml olive oil and 75ml sunflower oil, if you pour the oil slow enough a nice emulsion should form (for more tips on mayonnaise making have a look here). Check the seasoning and use however you like.

Spiced Nuts and Sugar Coated Fruit

You’ll notice from the mayonnaise, that I had a couple of egg whites left over. I used one of them in the same way as I did on this post, but slightly varied the spices. I mixed 200g cashew nuts with 70g hazelnuts, 1 duck egg white, pinch of cumin, paprika, sugar, salt and chilli flakes. Spread them out on a lined tray and baked for 10minutes at 180c, gave them a stir and baked for a further 5 minutes. Delicious.

With the other egg white I decided to sugar coat some lovely little redcurrants to top a lime and elderflower posset. A quick note on the wonderful posset, I was first introduced to this when I was a pastry chef at Racine and have never really got over how simple and delicious it is. If you haven’t made one before, I urge you to. Here’s the recipe, it serves 8:

Lightly beat the egg white until it is slightly frothy. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar with the ginger. Dip the redcurrants in the egg white, lift out with a fork and allow any excess to drip off. Lightly coat in the sugar and then leave to dry on a wire rack.

Place the cream and sugar in a pan, bring slowly up to boiling point, letting the sugar dissolve. Remove from the heat and add the juice of 3 limes and 6 tbsps of elderflower cordial. Taste and add the rest of the lime and cordial if needed. Pour into glasses / mugs / ramekins and chill for a few hours until set. Top with the redcurrants.

Chocolate Brownies

If you ever needed an excuse to make chocolate brownies, a few eggs near to the end of their life is more than a good enough one. Truth be told, my sister (who demanded from me a brownie wedding cake) was shocked that there was no brownie recipe on my blog. There is a very good reason for this, my brownie recipe is in itself shocking. I’m sure a true brownie connoisseur wouldn’t go near it as I don’t think it uses the proper techniques or even ingredients for that matter. However, it’s simple and delicious and everyone I know who’s tried it seems to love it. So here goes, my slightly guilty secret brownie being let out to the masses (please don’t judge me):

Preheat the oven to 160c. Grease and flour a tray measuring approximately 16cm x 26cm and set aside. Melt 125g butter in a pan and mix in 250g sugar. Remove from the heat and add 3 beaten eggs, 100g self-raising flour, 100g cocoa powder and a drop of vanilla extract. Add 50g chopped nuts of your choice (pistachio, pecan, walnut…). Pour into the tin and place in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked but still slightly gooey in the centre. Leave to cool in the tin for about 30minutes and then cut and transfer to a wire rack. You must eat at least one warm.

Soft Boiled Quail’s Eggs

Last up on this eggy post is a little instruction on the perfectly soft-boiled quail’s egg which are delicious with a little celery salt. Bring a pan of water to the boil and lower in the quails eggs. Boil for exactly 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Remove from the pan and plunge into a bowl of ice-cold water. Allow to cool a little and peel.

4 Responses to Eggs. Eggs. Glorious Eggs.

I’m with your friend. there’s something a bit odd about smothering a mother with a mixture of oil and her unfertilized offspring before devouring them both. what are, weasels? (this post is awaiting approval by the moderator).